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ZIRH CLEAN face wash - I borrowed it from my brother and it. exfoliates. EVERYTHING. I've had cystic acne since I was 11 and it's saying a lot that I think this stuff is the shizznit.

I get cysts also (in fact, that's almost all I get. I'll be 99% clear with one massive, painful cyst). Do you use the AHA face wash in this line?

AHA (specifically glycolic acid) is awesome for acne, and exfoliating and wrinkles and ingrown hairs (if you're a dude). It's seriously not in enough products marketed for acne.

For that reason, my favorite daytime moisturizer is Neutrogena Healthy Skin Face Lotion w/SPF. It's the highest concentration of glycolic acid in a product I can find in the drugstore; I only wish it did not have fragrance in it. My favorite online one is the AHA Lotion that they sell at acne.org. It's has no irritating ingredients & the price is right.

"Charlotte sometimes dreams a wall around herself. But it's always with love - So much love it looks like everything else. Charlotte Sometimes - So far away, glass sealed and pretty." - The Cure

Still reading your comments and absorbing them (plus I'm at work, so can't look at the pics here).... but for short answers:

I don't use eyeshadow primer, I never even knew anything about it. I do have a primer for my foundation, which I sometimes do use.

I do try to use a light base, especially under my brow on the bone to lighten things up, then darker on the lid and darkest on the upper corners and "winged out" to the sides of my head and up.

I typically use an eyeshadow brush (sephora) + my fingertips to blend.

I think I need to go lighter on the brow color. My hair is darker and my brows ARE brown and a mix of darker and lighter hairs, but they're kind of sparse and just don't shape easily. They seem to be flatter, and/or have more of a point rather than curve in the middle. (Yes, I'm a pumpkin. ) Even plucking to shape, I have trouble getting a good arc in them. Sometimes I just want to shave them off and then paste on fake ones, lol...

Have you had your eyebrows professionally dyed and shaped before? Waxing is more precise versus the string method. If you're a perfectionist, I would recommend doing that in addition to lightly penciling, if they're sparse. Do not draw a hard line! That's so tacky. If you have wild hairs, just brush over your eyebrows with a little bit of clear mascara to keep them in place, as a final step. That also helps blend and lock in the pencil for a natural look. When you're done, you should not see a hard pencil line or you did it wrong.

The shadow primer is unnecessary. What do you put on your eyelids before you apply eyeshadow? You said you apply foundation, so do you apply powder after that?

Have you had your eyebrows professionally dyed and shaped before? Waxing is more precise versus the string method.

I did do a few waxing sessions at two different Asian boutiques, but the outcome was wildly inconsistent. The place I thought did a good job shut down, and the other place, I was very unhappy.

I went to a local salon, where she did plucking instead, and they looked nice, but it was far too expensive.

I haven't tried the Indian string method at this point yet.

If you're a perfectionist, I would recommend doing that in addition to lightly penciling, if they're sparse. Do not draw a hard line! That's so tacky. If you have wild hairs, just brush over your eyebrows with a little bit of clear mascara to keep them in place, as a final step. That also helps blend and lock in the pencil for a natural look. When you're done, you should not see a hard pencil line or you did it wrong.

I think that's what I don't like about my current brush/powder, it's too dark and is thus obviously "drawn in."

I just don't really have a clue where to go in this area. Also, it's kind of touchy because I just hate having to show everyone I wear a hair unit -- when someone is THAT much on top of my face and my hair has to be pulled back, they can easily see the lace front. Meh. So I hate going blind into places unless I know they're going to be worth it.

The shadow primer is unnecessary. What do you put on your eyelids before you apply eyeshadow? You said you apply foundation, so do you apply powder after that?

Yes, I lay MAC foundation on my skin, including a light smooth layer under the brows and down onto on my eyelid, and then I use MAC mineral powder over top everything, in order to equalize and prep the area.

"Hey Capa -- We're only stardust." ~ "Sunshine"

“Pleasure to me is wonder—the unexplored, the unexpected, the thing that is hidden and the changeless thing that lurks behind superficial mutability. To trace the remote in the immediate; the eternal in the ephemeral; the past in the present; the infinite in the finite; these are to me the springs of delight and beauty.” ~ H.P. Lovecraft

I love the way this smells, and it works nicely too, but it doesn't have that minty feeling like burt's bees.

yes! rosebud is so great and versatile! i love products that
serve multiple purposes. i always keep this in my bag. i love
that it's wide so i don't need to dip my fingers unlike other lip
balms.i just purse my lips and kiss it. and that's enough to
cover my lips. they're like $4-5 i think. and it's usually placed
around the checkout line in sephora.

aaaand they last and last. the one in the above photo i opened
it in december last year. and i use it almost everyday. so about
10 months. which is really great. and they're very good in hot
weather. it doesn't get waxy melty at all.

also it's so good for like makeshift moisturizer, so good for
elbows and knees. dusty toes if you've been wearing sandals.
feels a bit greasy at first but it absorbs right in. it's very gentle
(it's also used to put on a baby's butt to prevent diaper rash).

I swear by Nutrogena facial cleansing products now, because I have sensitive combination skin and still break out. I use the old-fashioned Nutrogena clear glycerine acne-bar when I'm low on cash, but I swear by the Nutrogena redness relieving wash in the green bottle...it is actually THE BEST stuff to wash my face in, because I'm prone to redness on my cheeks from skin sensitivity or rosacea or something.

i love ngn's deep clean line, and its scrub in particular:
it has a very similar consistency as the more expensive
sisley buff and wash facial gel (which is really amazing)
but retails at like $113 for 3oz.

but dude, i can't bring myself to pay that for something
i just wash off. for facewash, i'm very happy with ngn.

vs

i do however invest heavily in my moisturizer.

every normal man must be tempted, at times,
to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag,
and begin slitting throats.
h.l. mencken